Proving and protecting your identity

  • Get a birth certificate

    Your New Zealand birth certificate can be used as official ID for most things. It costs $26.50 to get a copy sent to you, or $39.80 for a pack with a standard and a decorative birth certificate.

  • Get a marriage certificate

    Your New Zealand marriage or civil union certificate is an official record of your marriage. It costs $26.50 to get a copy sent to you.

  • Get a death certificate

    You might need a death certificate if you're administering someone's estate or applying for a funeral grant from Work and Income or ACC.

  • Prove you're an NZ citizen

    You can use your NZ passport, birth certificate or citizenship certificate, or get a confirmation of birth in New Zealand certificate.

  • Access to your birth, marriage and name change records

    Birth, death, marriage, civil union and name change records are a public register — anyone can generally request copies of someone's information. You can see who's accessed your records since 2009 or block access to them if your safety is at risk.

  • Identity theft

    Identity theft is when someone uses your identity information to pretend to be you.

  • Translating official documents

    Get an official translation so you can use a New Zealand government document, like a birth certificate, overseas.

  • Authenticating official documents for use overseas

    An authentication or apostille certification tells a foreign government or authority that a New Zealand document is official.

  • What is RealMe?

    RealMe is the secure way to prove who you are online. You can use it in two ways: to prove who you are when you’re online, and to log into lots of NZ government sites and services.

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